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The Atomo Diagnostics Ltd (ASX: AT1) share price has come under significant pressure on Tuesday.

At the time of writing, the medical device company’s shares are down 9% to 30.5 cents.

Why is the Atomo share price sinking?

As well as being caught up in the market volatility, the Atomo share price is being sold down by investors following the release of an announcement.

According to the release, Atomo and Access Bio have restructured their commercial relationship to reflect the evolving structural changes in the COVID-19 diagnostics market.

What was the previous agreement?

In July last year, Atomo entered into an agreement with the US-based diagnostics specialist to supply its unique, integrated rapid diagnostic test (RDT) devices to Access Bio for use with its rapid test strip for detection of antibodies to COVID-19.

Under this agreement, Access Bio was obliged to sell a minimum of two million products by 30 September 2021.

The two parties then expanded the agreement a couple of months later. Under the expanded partnership, Atomo had non-exclusive rights to market and distribute Access’ COVID-19 rapid antigen test in Australia, New Zealand, and India. These were to be branded as the Atomo COVID-19 Antigen Test, subject to obtaining the required regulatory approvals in each jurisdiction.

What’s the latest?

Today’s announcement reveals that the new agreement, which is effective immediately and expires on 31 December 2022, will see Atomo receive a one-off fee from Access Bio to replace any payments due to Atomo under the existing agreements.

However, while management considers the fee to be “material”, it has not provided any colour on what that means in dollar terms. This could be weighing on the Atomo share price today.

In addition, the new agreement provides Atomo the right, but not the obligation, to purchase at a fixed price per unit up to 10 million Atomo branded COVID-19 Rapid Antigen tests between now and the end of 2022. These are for use in professional settings in Australia and New Zealand only.

This test was listed on the ARTG by the TGA in October 2020 and is currently being sold by Atomo in the Australian market in a number of channels.

What else?

Furthermore, the company has the right to purchase at a fixed price per unit up to 10 million Atomo branded COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Self-Tests. These self-tests will be able to be used in homes across Australia if approved by the TGA.

Management explained the logic behind the new agreement. It said: “The new agreement enables the parties to better align themselves to meet the opportunities resulting from changes in the diagnostic landscape in FY22.”

“The termination of Atomo’s OEM agreement with Access Bio will in no way affect Atomo’s current HIV business where Atomo is the listed manufacturer of its own Atomo HIV Self-Test and AtomoRapid HIV professional use tests across LMIC and developed healthcare markets,” it added.

The post Here’s why the Atomo (ASX:AT1) share price is crashing 9% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why is the Atomo Diagnostics (ASX:AT1) share price halted?
• These were the 5 top performing ASX shares in September
• Why the Atomo Diagnostics (ASX:AT1) share price has rallied 15% today
• Why the Atomo Diagnostics (ASX:AT1) share price has soared 30% in a week

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Australian Foundation Investment Co. Ltd. (ASX: AFI) (AFIC) share price is down this morning amid concerns about China and inflation.

For readers that haven’t heard of AFIC before, it’s an old listed investment company (LIC) which invests in other shares for its shareholders.

The LIC is holding its annual general meeting (AGM) today and decided to give investors a detailed outline about its strategy, some of its holdings and the outlook.

Regarding the outlook, which seems to be getting a lot more investor attention at the moment, there were three elements that AFIC noted. It said it’s mindful of Chinese growth slow, it is noting the inflationary environment and potential end of rate easing cycle, and third it’s seeing that company dividends are recovering.

But the LIC is still positive. It said that the outlook for earnings growth remains solid, saying that companies with international earnings are relatively better positioned to deliver.

However, whilst the AFIC share price is down by around 0.4% right now, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down around 0.85%. So with that in mind, it’s actually beating the ASX benchmark.

International earnings?

AFIC is giving itself a few different ways to access international earnings.

It has started to invest some money into international shares – ones listed outside of Australia. The LIC invested $47 million in international shares in May 2021, which it called a small amount.

The international portfolio includes 39 companies. Performance from these shares has so far been “encouraging”.

It’s looking to build a consistent track record with this international portfolio. The LIC is applying the “AFIC way” of investing to its international portfolio.

At 30 June 2021, some of its biggest international positions included Alphabet, Microsoft, Nike, Netflix, Alibaba, Amazon, Chipotle, Facebook and HCA Healthcare.

It also has plenty of ASX shares that have international earnings.

What is the AFIC way of investing?

AFIC aims to provide shareholders with attractive investment returns through access to a growing stream of fully franked dividends and growth in capital invested.

Over the last year the AFIC share price has risen 31% and over the last five years it has gone up 45%.

Quality is a key focus.

There are a number of areas that AFIC looks at: uniqueness of assets, long-term sustainability, independence (from the government, suppliers etc.), people, earnings consistency and financial strength.

Further explaining its focus on long-term quality, AFIC said it’s a long-term investor in companies, not traders of share prices. It said it aims to identify quality companies with sound growth prospects that it can buy at a reasonable price. This supports its belief in the power of compounding returns from great businesses.

What ASX shares does AFIC think have long-term potential?

One of the main things that can impact the AFIC share price is the performance of the portfolio, being the underlying holdings.

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) was one of the shares it pointed to, noting its strong market positions in Australia and New Zealand, with a growing presence in the UK and the rest of the world. The LIC also said that Xero’s software as a service (SaaS) model and economics deliver superior returns. AFIC also noted the strong subscriber and average revenue per user (ARPU) growth. The investment team thinks it has a long runway of growth with large growing global addressable markets.

Carsales.com Ltd (ASX: CAR) was another ASX share that AFIC likes. The LIC points to the dominant market position in used car classifieds in Australia with an audience of 4.4 million average monthly unique users, which was 4.5x bigger than the competitor. AFIC is also attracted to the growing contribution from international businesses, which now represents just over a third of the group profit.

The post AFIC (ASX:AFI) share price struggles amid inflation concerns appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Afterpay & Zip sink, energy shares rise
• Why the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is down 4% today
• Top broker tips Xero (ASX:XRO) share price to rise 24%
• ASX 200 tech shares set to slide as Nasdaq plunges 2%
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended carsales.com Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Antipa Minerals Ltd (ASX: AZY) share price is rocketing today. It is currently up 8.7% to 5 cents per share.

The ASX resource explorer is posting strong gains even as the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) succumbs to wider global market selling pressure, down 1.15% at the time of writing.

Below, we take a look at Antipa’s latest drill results that appear to be driving investor interest.

What drill results were reported?

The Antipa Minerals share price is taking off after the company reported strong assay results from the ongoing drill campaign at its 100% owned Minyari Dome Project in Western Australia.

The company’s drill program kicked off in May to test for extensions at Antipa’s Minyari and WACA resources.

According to the release, the 2 sites have a combined JORC 2012 Mineral Resource Estimate of 723,000 ounces of gold at 2.0 grams per tonne, and 26,000 tonnes of copper at 0.24%.

The results returned significant high-grade gold and copper intersections. Among these were 134.0m at 1.70 g/t gold and 0.30% copper from 212.0m down hole. This included:

• 0m at 5.93 g/t gold, 4.42% copper, 10.75 g/t silver and 0.10% cobalt from 217.0m

• 0m at 4.49 g/t gold, 0.71% copper, 1.79 g/t silver and 0.13% cobalt from 241.0m

Commenting on the results possibly fuelling the Antipa Minerals share price, managing director Roger Mason said:

Minyari drill hole results continue to demonstrate the capacity of this intrusion related breccia system to generate strong gold‐copper intersections over wide intervals and highlight significant zones of mineralisation outside the resource to the east and west which will support a revised resource estimate and project development studies for a potential standalone open pit and underground mining operation.

At Minyari, high‐grade gold plus copper, silver and cobalt mineralisation has now been intersected along 500 metres of strike, down to 600m below the surface and across a horizontal width of up to 275 metres, and mineralisation remains open in several directions.

The explorer has also extended its drill program into November based on the program’s recent success.

Antipa Minerals share price snapshot

Antipa shares have gained 25% so far in 2021. By comparison, the All Ords is up 8% year-to-date.

Over the past month, the Antipa share price is down 17%.

The post Why the Antipa Minerals (ASX:AZY) share price is soaring 9% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• AFIC (ASX:AFI) share price struggles amid inflation concerns
• Soul Patts (ASX:SOL) share price slips amid completed Milton merger
• Aurizon (ASX:AZJ) share price lifts following sustainability report
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Afterpay & Zip sink, energy shares rise
• Why the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is down 4% today

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL) share price has gotten off to a shaky start this Tuesday. At the time of writing, Soul Patts shares are trading at $37.70 each, down 0.16% for the day so far.

That’s not a direction most shareholders would probably welcome. But, even so, Soul Patts is still performing better than the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). The ASX 200 is down by 0.95% so far today to 7,209 points. 

So, we have some news today that might be contributing to Soul Patts’ performance thus far. Before market open this morning, Soul Patts announced the proposed merger between Soul Patts and the Listed Investment Company (LIC) Milton Corporation Ltd (ASX: MLT) has been completed.

Milton merger moves the markets

This proposed merger was first announced back in June. It proposed that Milton, one of the ASX’s oldest LICs, merge into Soul Patts, bringing with it a $3.85 billion (as of 31 August) portfolio of shares and cash. Well, now that merger has been completed and Soul Patts is the new owner of Milton’s portfolio.

Although Soul Patts is not technically an LIC, it’s probably the closest thing to it on the ASX boards. It is a very old company, having first opened its doors in its current form in 1903.

More recently, Soul Patts has won the distinction of being the ASX’s best performing dividend share in terms of its payout history. The company has now managed to increase its dividend every single year since 2000, a record unmatched on the ASX boards.

The merger with Milton will add plenty of diversification to Soul Patts too. As we looked at back in June, Soul Patts has a relatively concentrated share portfolio. Its major holdings are in Brickworks Ltd (ASX: BKW), New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC), TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), and Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API). That’s in addition to some smaller holdings.

In contrast, Milton has (or had) a far less concentrated portfolio. Its major holdings (as of 31 August) included Soul Patts itself, as well as Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP).

Its largest 20 holdings made up 71.6% of its total portfolio as of 31 August. And all of those holdings are now part of the Soul Patts’ portfolio.

About the Soul Patts share price

Soul Patts has had an exceptionally strong run in recent months. The company is up a very healthy 25.2% year to date so far and up an even rosier 56.7% over the past year. Over the past 5 years, the company has added 136.4%.

At the current Soul Patts share price of $37.70, the company has a market capitalisation of $9.02 billion and a dividend yield of 1.65%.

The post Soul Patts (ASX:SOL) share price slips amid completed Milton merger appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Afterpay & Zip sink, energy shares rise
• These were the 5 best performing ASX 200 resources in September
• 2 ASX shares that could keep growing the dividend every year
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• What’s the latest news on the Evergrande share price?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Brickworks. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Brickworks, Macquarie Group Limited, and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Aurizon Holdings Ltd (ASX: AZJ) share price is edging higher in morning trade today, currently trading up 0.13% at $3.85.

Aurizon shares are on the move despite there being no market-sensitive news out of the company’s corner today.

However, it earlier released its 2021 sustainability report to the market.

Here’s what we know.

What did Aurizon release?

Aurizon, Australia’s largest rail freight operator, released its 2021 sustainability report, highlighting its performance in this domain for the year.

In its report, the company explained that 80% of its employee base is in regional Australia while 23% of its workforce is female, up from 22% the year prior.

In addition, the company has launched its climate strategy and action plan which includes a net-zero operational emissions target by 2050.

The company said it achieved a 2% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions intensity from the year prior while also supporting 46 charities through its “Community Giving Fund”.

Additionally, Aurizon highlighted how it “create[s] tangible and sustainable value for [its] primary stakeholders, including investors, customers, employees, and the community”.

It measures this from its dividend and share buyback programs which, the company says, “ha[ve] been significant and provide a platform for the future”.

To date, Aurizon has provided a “stable cash flow” to investors, delivering more than $4 billion to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks.

For instance, in FY21, the company returned almost $530 million to its shareholders and completed a $300 million share buyback of its own shares.

According to the company, this “increased shareholders’ effective interest by approximately 4%”.

Aurizon also detailed its climate action program where it has already made a 20% reduction in its “locomotive carbon footprint since 2010”.

It is targeting net-zero emissions by 2050 and is investing $50 million over the next 10 years to achieve a reduction target of 10% by 2030.

Aurizon share price snapshot

The Aurizon share price has had a difficult year to date, posting a loss of 0.5% since January 1.

Over the last 12 months, things haven’t been any better with Aurizon shares slipping a further 9% out of the money.

These results are well behind the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s climb of 25% during this time.

The post Aurizon (ASX:AZJ) share price lifts following sustainability report appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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The author Zach Bristow has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Aurizon Holdings Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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At lunch on Tuesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a disappointing decline. The benchmark index is currently down 1% to 7,208.2 points.

Here’s what is happening on the ASX 200 today:

Tech shares weigh on ASX 200

One area of the market weighing heavily on the ASX 200 today has been the tech sector. At the time of writing, the shares of Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and the Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) are both down approximately 5%. This has led to the S&P/ASX All Technology Index dropping 3.1% at the time of writing. Investors have been selling tech shares after a disappointing night of trade on the tech-focused Nasdaq index.

Energy shares rise

It has been a good day for Australian energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO). They are pushing higher today and helping to offset some of the ASX 200’s declines. Investors have been buying energy shares after oil prices rose in response to news that OPEC is planning to stick to gradual supply increases. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price and the Brent crude oil price both rose over 2% overnight.

Xero given buy rating

The Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price may be dropping along with the tech sector today but one leading broker believes it will rebound strongly. This morning the team at Goldman Sachs reiterated their buy rating and $165.00 price target on the cloud accounting platform provider’s shares. The broker notes that updates provided by rival Intuit at its investor day are supportive of its positive view on Xero.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Tuesday has been the Silver Lake Resources Limited (ASX: SLR) share price with a gain of 5%. This follows a rise in the gold price overnight and increased demand for safe haven assets. The worst performer has been the IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) share price with a 6% decline following weakness in the tech sector.

The post ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Afterpay & Zip sink, energy shares rise appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is down 4% today
• These were the 5 best performing ASX 200 resources in September
• September’s best performing ASX 200 energy shares unmasked
• Top broker tips Xero (ASX:XRO) share price to rise 24%
• Why did the Santos (ASX:STO) share price have such a great month in September?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, Idp Education Pty Ltd, Xero, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and Xero. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price is sinking on Tuesday amid a broader rotation out of tech shares, driven by worries about persistent inflation, slowing growth, and looming interest rate hikes.

At the time of writing, Zip shares are down 4.82% to $6.52.

US-tech shares slammed overnight

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 311 points, or 2.14%, last night to a two and a half month low.

The sharp fall was headlined by tech heavyweights including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet, all of which fell at least 2%.

Perhaps more relevant to the Zip share price, its US-listed rival Affirm tumbled 8.42% overnight.

“The on-again, off-again nervousness about Federal monetary policy, the disruption among supply chains and the potential for higher taxes (along with other concerns such as inflation risk and higher taxes) have kept market enthusiasm in check,” Oppenheimer Asset Management’s chief investment strategist John Stoltzfus told CNBC.

“Meanwhile rotation and rebalancing efforts, along with some profit taking by skeptics, bears and nervous investors, account for a significant part of market activity on any given day.”

ASX tech shares follow through

ASX tech shares have taken the brunt of the selling with the S&P/ASX Information Technology (INDEXASX: XIJ) down 3.44% by midday and down 6.25% in the last five days.

Headlining the sharp declines is the Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price, down 5.33% at the time of writing.

So the weak Zip share price might come as no surprise given the weak performance of its sector and peers.

Other heavyweight tech shares including Xero Limited (ASX: XRO), WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) and NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) are also logging hefty declines, down 2.47%, 2.72% and 3.02% respectively.

Zip share price testing 8-month lows

The $6.50 region has proven to be a supportive neckline for the Zip share price. It’s bounced strongly from there on previous occasions in mid-May and late July.

However, the broader market is looking far from supportive with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rolling over to a 2-month low and a correction well underway for the Nasdaq, down 7% since the beginning of September.

The post Why the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is down 4% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Top broker tips Xero (ASX:XRO) share price to rise 24%
• Why did the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price have such a bad month in September?
• ASX 200 tech shares set to slide as Nasdaq plunges 2%
• Square slumps 5%. How could this impact the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price today?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, WiseTech Global, Xero, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, WiseTech Global, and Xero. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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September has come and gone and we are now into the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s 10th month of the year.

And as it turns out, September wasn’t a particularly lucrative month to have been invested in ASX 200 shares. From the start of the month to the end, the ASX 200 ended up going backwards by around 2.6%, falling from 7,534.9 points to 7,332.2 points by the end of the month.

Needless to say, there were many ASX 200 shares that went backwards over this period. But not all of them. So here are the 5 best performing ASX 200 resources shares for the month. As you can see, some of these companies did a whole lot better than the broader markets last month.

The 5 best performing ASX 200 resources in September

Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT)

Beach Energy is our first ASX 200 resources share to check out. This energy share spent September in a fairly volatile mood. But even so, Beach shares had an explosive month, rising from approximately $1.05 at the end of August to close out the month of September at $1.50 a share. That’s a rise of 42.86%.

Since Beach is primarily an oil driller, we can probably put this performance down to the stellar run crude oil prices went on over the month. WTI crude oil was hitting more than US$75 a barrel just last week, helping to boost ASX oil companies like Beach.

Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)

From oil to coal, and Whitehaven was another ASX 200 beneficiary of a strong resources market over the month just gone.

Whitehaven shares ended August at $2.53 a share. But by the time September was wrapping up last week, this miner’s share price had risen to $3.23. That’s a month-on-month gain of 27.67%.

As with Beach, we can point to the underlying surge in the price of coal as Whitehaven’s source of strength.

Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL)

Let’s turn to another ASX 200 oil company, Woodside Petroleum. Woodside was also a beneficiary of higher crude oil pricing over September.

This oil company ended up rising by a very healthy 22.5% from $19.49 a share at the start of the month to $23.88 by the end. Predictions of $US90-a-barrel oil by the end of the year over the month just gone no doubt helped.

Santos Ltd (ASX: STO)

Another ASX 200 energy share to enjoy a good month was Santos. It experienced a nice uptick in investor sentiment thanks to a bullish oil market over the month.

The company started September at $6.05 a share but was trading at $7.17 by the end of the month. That’s a rise of 18.5%.

Alumina Limited (ASX: AWC)

Our final ASX 200 resources share that exceeded expectations in September is the alumina and aluminium producing company Alumina.

Alumina began September trading at $1.78 a share. But by the end of the month, AWC shares had hit $2.10 apiece, a rise of 17.98%.

Once more, we can point to robust commodity markets for the source of investors’ optimism with this company. Like oil and coal, aluminium and alumina had an exceptionally strong month. As my Fool colleague Zach mentioned at the time, the price of aluminium was up around 44% year to date in 2021 by mid-September. No wonder investors were fighting to get a hold of this company’s shares at the same time.

The post These were the 5 best performing ASX 200 resources in September appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• September’s best performing ASX 200 energy shares unmasked
• Why did the Santos (ASX:STO) share price have such a great month in September?
• These were the best performing ASX hydrogen shares of September
• ASX 200 energy shares on watch as OPEC meeting drives up oil prices
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) has started the week on a downward trend, trading 0.36% lower today at 7251.1 points.

At the same time, the S&P/ASX 200 Health Care index (XHJ) has also slipped 0.36% into the red from the opening of trade.

Aside from this, these ASX biotech shares have been a standout amongst their healthcare peers in September.

Read on to see how each performed last month.

Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU)

Immunotherapy company Imugene had a month full of momentum that propped its share price from 41.5 cents to 48 cents across the month of September.

Investors enjoyed the gains on a backdrop of positive results from the company’s HER-Vaxx immunotherapy candidate.

HER-Vaxx is being investigated in several clinical trials, and in September, positive readouts from a Phase 2 trial showed the label to be potentially effective as a kind of therapy in HER-2 gastric cancer.

Then came further good news on the drug candidate that it had received patent approval in Japan over its method of consumption and use.

Imugene was also added to the S&P/ASX 300 Index last month, indicating the growth of this ASX biotech share in recent times.

In the last year alone, Imguene shares have soared over 720% to date and climbed 16% in September.

Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV)

Shares in global biopharma company Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals climbed from $36.50 to $42.86 in September, a 17.5% monthly gain.

Clinuvel shares popped when the company reported its FY21 earnings on 26 August, where they were trading at $29 and change just prior to this.

This momentum carried through the month of September, as investors appeared to have favoured the company’s 43% year on year (YoY) gain in revenue and 63% YoY increase in profit after tax.

Shareholders will also enjoy a 2.5 cents dividend from the company from its FY21 results, which is flat with the year prior.

Clinuvel’s share price performance last month brings its gain for the year to 84%, well ahead of its benchmark indices.

Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX: SPL)

The Starphama Holdings share price rallied across the month of September from $1.20 to $1.33, at one point closing at a high of $1.475 on 27 September.

The ASX biotech share had a choppy month after investors started to buy it in droves after Starpharma released its FY21 earnings on 26 August.

Whilst the company saw a number of headwinds from its FY21 operations, including a 67% down-step in revenue, investors appeared to look past the company’s financials.

This was backed by the US Patents and Trademarks Office (USPTO) approving a patent for the company’s DEP cabazitaxel label, which covers DEP dendrimer coupled with multiple cabazitaxel drug molecules, with a novel mechanism of action.

This particular hypothesis is being tested in over 40 patients in a Phase 2 clinical trial, for the potential treatment of various cancers.

Despite the positive month, it has been a difficult year for the Starpharma share price, having posted a loss of 22% since January 1, and over 18% this past 12 months.

Collectively, these ASX biotech shares have outperformed their benchmarks in September, and awarded investors with healthy gains.

The post These were the best performing ASX biotech shares in September appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Which ASX 300 shares are on the move for the start of the week?
• How did ASX healthcare shares perform in the FY22 first quarter?
• Which ASX 300 shares are the major movers at the end of the week?
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The author Zach Bristow has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Starpharma Holdings Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Starpharma Holdings Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price has started the week on a positive note.

In morning trade, the gold miner’s shares are up 3% to $3.73.

Why is the Evolution share price rising?

Investors have been bidding the Evolution share price higher this morning following a rise in the gold price and the release of an announcement.

In respect to the latter, Evolution has announced a binding agreement with Navarre Minerals Limited (ASX: NML) to sell the Mt Carlton gold mine (including Crush Creek) in Queensland for a total consideration of up to $90 million.

The release notes that the total consideration comprises $40 million payable upon completion, up to $25 million contingent consideration payable on cumulative gold production milestones, and up to $25 million contingent consideration payable in the form of a 5% gold price linked royalty. This is applicable when the average spot gold price is greater than A$2,250 an ounce in a given quarter. The royalty is payable on production from both Mt Carlton and Crush Creek from 1 July 2023 for up to 15 years.

Evolution also revealed that it has agreed to participate in Navarre’s equity raise up to a maximum shareholding of 19.9% (approximately $20 million). The final holding will be determined after its equity raise has concluded.

Evolution’s Executive Chairman, Jake Klein, commented: “Mt Carlton was Evolution’s first development project and has generated excellent returns for shareholders since it was commissioned in 2013. With the Company focused on delivery of growth projects at the cornerstone assets in the portfolio, we believe now is the time to hand Mt Carlton over to an emerging gold producer who can focus on extending the operation’s mine life.”

“The exposure we have retained will enable Evolution shareholders to benefit from the future success of the operation,” he added.

Updated guidance

Evolution has updated its guidance to reflect the sale. Evolution has reduced its FY 2022 production slightly to 670,000 – 725,000 ounces.

Positively, the operation’s higher costs mean that Evolution lowered its all-in sustaining cost (AISC) guidance by A$40 per ounce to A$1,180 – A$1,240 per ounce.

The Evolution share price is down 30% in 2021.

The post Here’s why the Evolution (ASX:EVN) share price is charging higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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